Divisional Director of Midwifery

Job responsibilities

Strategy

• Lead on the maternity strategic vision in line with the national maternity transformation programme.
• Work with strategic partners across the health economy and members of the Board and the executive to set the strategic direction for the maternity service aligned to the Trusts values, vision and aims.
• Be responsible for leading the strategic development and implementation of improving the maternity service user and carer experience.
• Provide advice and support to the Trusts governance processes in relation to maternity, as required, including the board of directors and board committees with responsibility for the quality assurance framework.
• Interpret overall health service policy and strategy to establish goals and standards. Lead the coordination of the Trusts response to Department of Health initiatives to midwifery and maternity services ensuring local application.
• Support the Division to develop and evolve the strategy for the wider womens and childrens services.

Corporate

• Develop effective relationships with key external stakeholders including NHS England, local higher education providers, other local healthcare providers, local authorities, and the voluntary and community sectors in relation to maternity services.
• Manage relationships with internal and external functions and with the Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery, play a leading role in liaison with any regulatory bodies in relation to maternity services.
• Contribute to the maintenance of constructive and fruitful working relationships with all members of the health communities to foster a strong culture of partnership working.
• Communicate the maternity vision, objectives and plans to achieve commitment and ownership.
• Ensure that all legal, regulatory, and statutory obligations are met.
• Represent the Trust locally and nationally as and when required. Lead, manage and influence people through motivation and effective communication.
• Participate in partnering arrangements.
• Act as a driver for equality and diversity, both as an employer and provider of maternity services, ensuring that effective policies and procedures are in place and promoted.
• Deputise for the Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery across their full range of activities as required.

Clinical and Professional Leadership

• Establish effective, professional multidisciplinary relationships both within the Trust and outside organisations. Participate in regional and national meetings as appropriate.
• Maintain an up to date understanding of developments and changes in legislation, national policy and guidance that relate to all aspects of nursing and midwifery practice and ensure that senior Trust personnel are kept up to date and informed of impact on Trust services.
• To lead on enhancing excellent culture and close working relationships between with multi-professional staff across the division
• Support the Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery to develop, implement and measure the impact of the Nursing and Midwifery Strategy
• Provide leadership for the prevention and control of infection.
• Be responsible for midwifery workforce planning, ensuring the effective recruitment, retention and development of midwives and allied health professionals working within maternity which will positively affect the Trusts delivery of the maternity service and future plans.
• Lead and arbitrate, if necessary, on the development of the skills of the midwifery, nursing, and allied health professional workforce to ensure the level and distribution of competency necessary to meet with Trusts needs and expectations and be the final arbiter. To ensure appraisal, CPD and preceptorship processes are utilised effectively within the maternity service.
• Provide professional leadership and guidance for all midwifery staff ensuring compliance with NMC professional standards, statutory requirements and local policies and ensuring that appropriate structures are in place that support nurses and midwives at all levels and act as a role model internally and externally. Provide the ultimate professional judgement in all matters relating to nursing and midwifery within the division.
• Facilitate the development of collaborative practice across maternity networks.
• Provide expert nursing and midwifery leadership within local, regional, and national strategic opportunities.
• Lead on the patient experience strategy for divisional maternity services which continues to improve service user and carer experience in line with the Trusts ambition to be a service based on recommendation.
• Ensure that the Trusts midwifery profile is cost effective and long- and short-term requirements are properly matched.
• Apply professional standards of midwifery and monitor adherence to midwifery policies and procedures.
• Work as part of a cohesive senior Trust nursing team and, when necessary, take the lead responsibility for corporate issues outside immediate sphere of responsibility.
• Provide leadership through role-modelling of the values and behaviours of the Trust which support safety and experience of service users and carers. Promoting team-based working and problem solving.
• Develop a culture that encourages midwives to be innovative, creative, and challenging in the interests of patient care and professional practice.
• Lead the senior maternity team ensuring that all midwifery staff have clear goals and objectives, regular appraisal, and feedback on performance as well as personal development plans.
• To lead and embed the AEQUIP model in the organisations. these needs be led and monitored by the DOM working in close partnership with the Professional Midwifery Advocates (PMAs), with the model being framed around restorative practice for midwives, quality improvement, CPD, revalidation and advocacy for women.

Service and Carer Expectations

• Develop approaches to participation that enable members of the public and service users and carers to comment on the nursing, and maternity service current performance and contribute actively to the development of the divisional y services.
• Maintain contacts with the Maternity Voices Partnership and patient groups to develop their capacity and capability to contribute to the maternity services planning arrangements and to act as advocate for service user interests when required.
• Maintain a close overview on the management of complaints for maternity ensuring compliance of robust Trust processes with a responsive open culture. And ensure learning from complaints is undertaken and change embedded.

Risk Management and Clinical Governance

• Direct access to the Trust board and Chief Executive in relation to midwifery and maternity service issues particularly related to safety and risk. To be the responsible, accountable person for care standards within maternity, reporting to divisional management team, Divisional Board, Trust Board and the Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery on issues and progress.
• Ensure that there is alignment to the Trust clinical governance framework within the division, including robust divisional governance arrangements for the prevention and management of complaints, clinical incidents and serious incidents, the commissioning of statutory supervision of midwifery, strong risk management, meeting of NHSLA standards and robust arrangements for children and adult safeguarding within the division.
• Ensure that risks are appropriately managed and that prompt investigations into serious incidents are undertaken in a manner that enables lessons to be learned, communicated, and embedded into practice.
• Ensure that effective support from the AEQUIP model and PMAs of midwives is available for all Trust employed midwives and ensure the integration of AEQUIP with clinical governance.
• Have overall responsibility for ensuring that the antenatal and new-born screening programmes are delivered, monitored, evaluated and that data is reported as per the nationally agreed standards and service specifications for each of the six screening programmes, and to ensure that staff are appropriately trained to fulfil the requirements of these.
• Influence and promote the research and development agenda and participate in multi- disciplinary research within the service.
• Ensure that midwifery practice is compliant with national standards and external regulation e.g., NHSLA, CQC requirements, NICE guidelines etc.
• Ensure that all midwifery practice is current and supports informed and personalised care.
• Work to move the service towards whole service implementation of Maternity Continuity of Carer in line with the Long-Term Plan
• Ensure that the quality standard for one-to-one care in labour is maintained.

Operational Performance

• To ensure resources are deployed to achieve best outcome with reference to Trust and service business plans.
• Work with the Divisional Quadrumvirate on operational planning and Lead on evaluation of maternity and nursing performance
• To manage and work within agreed budgets for the services and contribute to the delivery of required efficiency programmes.
• Monitors pay expenditure for midwifery areas of responsibility ensuring resources are used wisely ensuring that services make a substantial positive difference to the quality of health services delivered by the Trust.
• To ensure that there is a robust communications framework across the division that engages staff at all levels promoting involvement in decision making and the delivery of corporate and divisional objectives.
• Agree resources and financial targets for the maternity services and devolution of budgets being involved in regular review of budgets and the use of resources within services.
• Significantly contribute to achieving financial balance in the division.
• Lead cost improvement programs within the maternity service, ensuring the quality of the service for womens experience is maintained whilst seeking to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the service.

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Midwife
• Evidence of sustained personal and professional development
• Master's degree or equivalent
• Post graduate leadership qualification or relevant experience
• Evidence of CPPD

Desirable

• Registered Nurse
• Professional Midwifery / Nursing Advocate

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Extensive experience of working at senior leadership level in a complex maternity and Trust environment
• Significant Head of Midwifery experience is essential
• An in depth understanding of the statutory framework governing nurses and midwives and care givers
• Significant experience of leading clinical teams and professional agenda's
• Experience of leading organisational / service changes to deliver improvement
• Experience of working at a senior level across organisational boundaries
• Proven ability to achieve targets and objectives within a pressured environment against challenging deadlines
• Excellent practical understanding of national standards and best practice in NHS complaints management and experience of working with service users
• An understanding of national and local policy drivers and impact on political environment
• Knowledge of the educational framework for both undergraduate and postgraduate level
• Experience of complex finance and budgetary management, and cost improvement
• Proven track record of managing risks and providing innovative mitigations and actions to reduce risk
• Ability to interpret national and local policy drivers understanding the political environment

Desirable

• A knowledge of health and social care structures at national, regional, and local level
• Presentation to senior colleagues at board level

Skills

Essential

• Highly developed performance improvement skills with a strong focus on developing and sustaining excellence in the planning and delivery of patient care
• Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills
• Able to deal with extremely sensitive or contentious issues potentially in a challenging or hostile environment
• Ability to think and act strategically and to articulate a clear sense of direction and vision to a wider audience
• Ability to communicate a compelling vision of the future of Maternity services
• Proven professional and personal leadership skills with an emphasis on negotiating, influencing and conflict resolution
• A track record of achievement in: effective performance management, introducing robust systems and processes, facilitation of groups
• Ability to lead and enthuse others not in line management structure
• Proven track record of holding staff to account
• Evidence of business planning in complex organisations
• Proven track record of leading large scale change projects in complex organisations
• Ability to inform national policy and guidance to inform decision making
• Ability to lead and ensure positive outcomes across range of staff groups including AHPs and facilities
• Highly numerate and high level of analytical / problem solving skills
• Highly developed communication, inter- personal and presentation skills
• Well-developed IT skills to manage and report on complex performance management information systems
• Excellent team player and able to communicate at all levels in the Trust
• Political awareness and ability to influence and work with stakeholders at all levels

Desirable

• Recognised qualification in Leading change
• Evidence of effective team working across boundaries
• The ability to think creatively and develop a vision for the future

Other

Essential

• Driven, energetic, enthusiastic and resourcefulness
• Team player with a focus on achievement of Trust objectives
• Ability to travel as required
• Ability to work in a climate of rapid change and uncertainty
• Highly professional role model
• Commitment to own personal development and to that of others
• Able to demonstrate work/life balance
• Interests and activities indicating teamwork, leadership and stress management

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).